In anatomy, a stoma (plural stomata /ˈstoʊmətə/ or stomas) is any opening in the body.

For example, a
mouth, a nose, and an anus are natural stomata. Any hollow organ can be manipulated into an artificial
stoma as necessary. This includes the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum, colon, pleural cavity,
ureters, urinary bladder, and renal pelvis. Such a stoma may be permanent or temporary.[citation
needed]

Surgical procedures that involve the creation of an artificial stoma have names that typically end with
the suffix "-ostomy", and the same names are also often used to refer to the stoma thus created. For
example, the word "colostomy" often refers either to an artificial anus or the procedure that creates
one. Accordingly, it is not unusual for a stoma to be called an ostomy (plural ostomies), as is the norm in
wound, ostomy, and continence nursing.

Stomata are created in particular in surgical procedures involving the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) or
gastrointestinal system (GIS). The GIT begins at the mouth or oral cavity and continues until its
termination, which is the anus. Examples of gastrointestinal stomata include:[citation needed]

Esophagostomy

Gastrostomy (also see percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy)

Cholecystostomy

Choledochostomy

Enteric:

Cecostomy

Colostomy

Duodenostomy

Ileostomy

Jejunostomy

Appendicostomy (see also continental appendicostomy)

One well-known form of an artificial stoma is a colostomy, which is a surgically created opening in the
large intestine that allows the removal of feces out of the body, bypassing the rectum, to drain into a
pouch or other collection device. This surgical procedure is invoked usually as a result of and solution to
disease in the GIT. The procedure involves bisecting this tube, usually between the later stage of the
small intestine (ileum) and the large intestine or colon, hence colostomy, and exiting it from the body in
the abdominal region. The point of exiting is what is known as the stoma.
For greatest success and to minimize negative effects, it is preferable to perform this procedure as low
down in the tract as possible, as this allows the maximal amount of natural digestion to occur before
eliminating fecal matter from the body. The stoma is usually covered with a removable pouching system
(adhesive or mechanical) that collects and contains the output for later disposal. Modern pouching
systems enable most individuals to resume normal activities and lifestyles after surgery, often with no
outward physical evidence of the stoma or its pouching system.

When planning the position of the stoma, a stoma nurse should bear in mind the height of the person's
waist and beltline so that clothes can fit as before. Also a peri-stomal hernia belt worn from the start can
help prevent the stoma from developing a serious hernia problem.

Other examples of stomata

Further information: List of -ostomies

Dacryocystorhinostomy

Sclerotomy

Tracheostomy

Urostomy (also see Ileal conduit urinary diversion)

Nephrostomy

Ureterostomy

Vesicostomy (cystostomy)

The historical practice of trepanation was also a type of stoma.